A new book by reporter Amy Chozick claims former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was stunned when her infamous “deplorables” line about Trump supporters bombed outside posh fundraising venues.
The author of “Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling” has covered Mrs. Clinton’s career for a decade, but her new book promises to supply “inside details” on the candidate’s failed 2016 campaign.
Excerpts released ahead of publisher Harper’s April 24 release date already have Clinton insiders questioning the author’s integrity.
“’I really messed up,” Mrs. Clinton allegedly said on the night that her “basket of deplorables” line went viral.
The New York Times journalist said, however, that the Democrat repeatedly used the line during campaign fundraisers.
“The deplorables always got a laugh, over living-room chats in the Hamptons, at dinner parties under the stars on Martha’s Vineyard, over passed hors d’oeuvres in Beverly Hills, and during sunset cocktails in Silicon Valley,” Ms. Chozick wrote, The Daily Beast reported Friday.
The book also covers the Clinton camp’s early enthusiasm for Mr. Trump’s campaign as he took down Republican primary opponents.
“When the main GOP debate came on, everyone pushed their pizza crust aside and stared transfixed at the TV set … [Campaign Manager] Robby [Mook] salivated when the debate came back on and Trump started to speak ’Shhhhh,’ Robby said, practically pressing his nose up to the TV. ’I’ve gahtz to get me some Trump,’” the author wrote. “Robby thought Rubio would be the nominee. Podesta was bullish on Kasich. Bill and Hillary, still stuck in the 1990s, feared the Bush surname most of all.”
A former Clinton staffer was none too pleased with Mrs. Chozick’s claims.
“The challenge on the campaign was that you had a reporter holding the Clintons to a higher standard through a lower standard of reporting,” the source told The Daily Beast. “Amy was not always an honest broker, and this book seems to be more of the same. It ridicules people with a smile, contributing little to the public discourse.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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